Former SEC Chief Accountant warns that the JOBS Act - sponsored by one of the most corrupt Congressmen in Washington - won't increase employment but will simplify swindling.

JOBS ACT OF 2012: WILL H.R. 3606 JUMPSTART OUR BUSINESS STARTUPS OR OPEN THE CROWDFUNDING FRAUD FLOODGATES?

U.S. Representative Stephen Fincher (R-TN-8) is a Big Ag businessman whose company has received over $8.9 million in government subsidies (corporate welfare) over the past ten years, a politician flagged but never penalized for federal election law violations by the Federal Election Commission last July, and a legislator the political watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) cites as one of the Most Corrupt Members of Congress:

His latest contribution to the corporate greed pervading our government is sponsorship of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, HR 3606, which has been passed with massive bipartisan support by both the House and Senate, but was sent back to the House to approve some Senate changes on Thursday (22 March 2012):

As is so often the case in Washington DC, the label on this Pandora's box says nothing about its true contents. Euphemistically referred to as the "Jobs Act of 2012", former Chief Accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission Lynn E. Turner warns this bill would destroy small investor protections dating back as far as the creation of the SEC itself. "It WON'T create jobs, but it WILL simplify fraud," Turner said in an interview last week. "This would be better known as the Bucket-Shop and Penny-Stock Fraud Reauthorization Act of 2012."

Mr. Turner is not alone in his assessment of HR3606. Crooked Congressman Fincher's summary claims the goal is to "increase American job creation and economic growth by improving access to the public capital markets for emerging growth companies [e.g. crowdfunding]", but President of the North American Securities Adminstrators Association (NASAA) Jack Herstein warns otherwise:

"Expanded access to capital markets for startups and small businesses can be beneficial, but only insofar as investors can be confident that they are protected, that transparency in the marketplace is preserved, and that investment opportunities are legitimate... Small businesses are important to job growth, and to improving the economy. However, by weakening investor protections and placing unnecessary restrictions on the ability of state securities regulators to protect retail investors from the risks associated with smaller, speculative investments, Congress is on the verge of enacting policies that, although intended to strengthen the economy, will in fact only make it more difficult for small businesses to access investment capital."

Personally, I'd wager that the only jobs created by the JOBS Act of 2012 will be for Wall Street brokers who didn't meet quota and other con artists pitching worthless penny stocks from telemarketing boiler rooms and Internet scam sites.

Comments

Wow, IBB... I agree with you entirely on this. Rolling back Sarbanes-Oxley for small firms will simply bring the American Stock Exchange (once known as the Scamex, for all the dodgy companies it listed) back to life. The key provision of SarbOx is very simple -- executives must take responsibility for the accuracy of the financial statements that they sign off on. I don't see how anyone could reasonably argue that should not be the case.

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